“We’re good,” Maya answered. “I’ll fill you in later. His family is in town with friends again.”
“Enough said there.” Lucas chuckled a bit. “Family—you love them and yet they drive you nuts. And I know his family is high-maintenance. Poor guy.”
Maya let out a little laugh too. She’d been raised by her grandparents. Pops and Nana were only children, as was her mother. But if Josh’s family was an indication of dealing with a lot of relatives, Maya was okay with only having Pops. She supposed she couldn’t totally talk, though—her father was a wanted felon, so that wasn’t normal either. Lucas had told her once that he was one of five kids, so she figured he knew plenty about family dynamics.
Seeing Finn get out of the vehicle, Juniper started howling and Maya could see her turning circles in her crate. “Great. She’ll probably rip the mats inside her compartment. Again. My boss will love that invoice for damage repair.”
“I noticed those footprints and I know you did too. Something tells me that Juniper will get some energy out today,” Lucas said.
Maya laughed. “I’m sure she will. Let’s go see what Finn finds.”
Another vehicle pulled up and Maya saw a cruiser from the Western River sheriff’s office park. A young, dark-haired female deputy stepped out. Rory. Maya was glad to have her here too. She’d met Rory in January when the rookie had helped her hunt down a serial killer. Rory and Maya were both kidnapped by the murderer, but they had managed to escape. Rory had put in for an opening in the department and Maya had highly recommended her to Pops.
She was glad to see Rory arrive, as she had become Maya’s new backup officer when working Juniper. Josh used to do it, but now that Maya and Josh were officially a thing, there was a conflict of interest having him help work with her and Juniper.
Rory came over and joined the group. They all waited until Doc had moved the body and put it in a bag. Rory crinkled her nose and said, “That’s not a good smell. I’m glad we’re outside and the wind changed direction.”
“Your first burn victim?” Maya asked.
“It is. I guess there’s a first for everything.”
“Especially in this job,” Maya answered.
Once Doc loaded the body into his van, he came over. “I’ll start the autopsy this afternoon and see what I can get done. Being Sunday, I won’t be able to submit any type of evidence to a lab until tomorrow. But I’ll let you know if I find anything that might give you answers today.”
“Thanks, Doc,” Maya said. “Do you think those holes are gunshot wounds?”
“I do. Based on a quick look, I think the shot to the head was a through and through. You might look for the bullet and maybe Miranda can process it. But the other shot makes me think that the bullet might still be in the body. That would be ideal.”
“It would,” Maya agreed.
“Although since an accelerant was used, I don’t know if the bullet will be viable or not. Depends. I’ll keep you posted. Tomorrow I’m busy with living patients, so it may take me a day or so to complete everything, but like I said, I’ll see what I can get done today.”
“Thanks, Doc,” Maya said. “Sorry to make you work on a Sunday.”
Doc waved and said, “Maybe we can start letting these criminals know Mondays would be more ideal.”
Maya snorted a laugh. “You’re beginning to get cop humor, Doc.”
“I know. That scares me.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Josh had Finn in his gear, ready to go. Maya suggested taking him away from the slash pile and casting him out in different directions to see if they could figure out if the murder had happened here or somewhere else. If there was blood or even bone fragments where the victim had been shot, then Finn would find it.
“Just stay away from those footprints, I haven’t cast them yet,” Miranda called out.
“Got it,” Josh said.
“Let’s go farther over the hill,” Maya said. “That way, hopefully we won’t mess with this scene.”
Josh nodded and they headed away from the area. Rory followed them too.
“Why don’t you back Josh up?” Maya asked her.
“Really? I’d love to,” Rory said.
Maya knew one of Rory’s goals was to work a K-9. The more she backed up officers, the better she’d be when she had her own dog. Josh cast Finn out and his nose went to the ground. He worked back and forth and then, tail wagging, trotted off in the direction of the road to Dead Man’s Pass. Based on his body language, Maya could tell he was catching some sort of odor. They’d taught him to find both live scent and human remains, so it could be either. When they were done working Finn, Maya would get Juniper out to see if she could find any evidence.
